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TABLE OF CONTENTSPreface viiAcknowlegements xiiiAbbreviations xivThe S.P.L.I.C.E. of Life?Deborah Bridge 1Four Models of Fatherhood: Paternal Contributors toHarry Potter’s Psychological DevelopmentRonnie Carmeli 11“Slaves No More”: The Harry Potter Series as PostcolonialSlave NarrativeSusan Howard 35Moral Fibre and Outstanding Courage: Harry Potter’sEthics of Courage as a Paradigm for the Muggle WorldEliana Ionoaia 49The Unexpected Task: The Journey of Maturation inHarry Potter and its Significance in Fan SpeculationLinda Jardine 77Harry Potter and his Readers: Results of an EmpiricalReader Study Conducted in a German BookshopSilvia Lafontaine 91The Xenophobic World of Wizards: Why are TheyAfraid of the “Other”?Joanna Lipińska 117Harry Potter as a Metaphor for Struggling with GodChristine Littlefield 125

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From Gred and Forge to Fred and George: CharacterTransformation in Harry PotterPhyllis Morris 145Harry Potter and Friends: Models for Psychological ResiliencyAngelea Panos 169Magical Musical Manifestations: A Literary Look at Wizard Rock 181Joelle ParéHolocaust History Amongst the Hallows—UnderstandingEvil in Harry PotterAida Patient and Kori Street 201The Need for an American Translation of the Harry Potter BooksDiana Patterson 229“ One Harry to Bind Them All”: The Utilisation of Harry PotterPetra Rehling 249Dumbledore in the Watchtower: Harry Potter as a Neo-VictorianNarrativeSusan Reynolds 271The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore: The Ethics of InformationSharing and Concealment in the Harry Potter NovelsAlicia Willson-Metzger 293Contributors 305Index 307vi Table of Contents

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PREFACEThe papers here are considerably expanded versions of the best of the Accio2008 Conference, entitled “From Quidditch Flyers to Dreaming Spires: Exploringthe Worldwide Influence of the Harry Potter Novels.” What emerged from thegroup exploration of the influence was both geographical and discipul. The papersselected here are mainly related to areas of knowledge, although they certainlyinclude contributions from a variety of places.The purpose of assembling these papers is to increase the distribution of thebest of Potter Studies suitable for academic study, particularly for those in post-graduate studies, looking for congruent ideas to explore. There have been at least ascore of conferences and hundreds of web sites, dissecting, analysing, andextending the work of J.K. Rowling. It is easy to dismiss much of this abundanceas children blogging about childish materials. And while certainly some material isof that calibre, some of the conferences are completely or mostly academic. Somepapers are genuinely insightful. Some prove, I contend, that there is much worthyof pursuit in Rowling’s works.There are many who are dismissive of these books: they are too popular to beof any value; they are long and repetitive; they are childish; they are derivative;they are insufficiently “literary” to be worthy of attention, much less of study.Each of these claims might as easily be made against Dickens. Some still persistagainst J.R.R. Tolkien. This collection is made partly in an attempt to quash suchfacile responses. Popularity, particularly across immense cultural divides, is itselfworthy of study, as much as one might consider why a tale of a 10-year siege of atown 3000 years ago might still have any interest today. Length and repetitivenesshave certain values, particularly in building character, creating a camouflage,obscuring plot lines. While the tale of Harry Potter begins in a childlike fashion, itmatures along with the protagonist in a way highly unusual, if not unique, toworks of fiction. One might say there are only seven plots in all the world, andthus everything is derivative: True Wit is Nature to Advantage drest / What oft wasThought, but ne’er so well Exprest … .” (Pope 1965, 153) What is genuinely newunder the sun? And what is “literary” fiction save another genre?At this point, Potter Studies is in its infancy, and yet even now it is clear howwidely the work we might easily dub an epic has created ideas worthy of analysisfrom a variety of areas of knowledge, as from life itself.For one of the intriguing aspects of the Harry Potter books is their closeness toour modern life, for the Potterverse is around an invisible corner of our own world,where we could observe the witches and wizards had we just a tiny twist in ourgenes that would make us into one of them. Thus it is an Horatian satire on ournotions of civilisation, especially education and our notions of good and evil.

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Goldsmith (1869) attempted to write such a critique without a plot in his Citizen ofthe World. Much of the best of science fiction is a look at our world, oftenfollowing our current behaviours to reductio ad absurdam.Of course in addition to being an epic and an Horatian satire, Harry Potter isalso a school novel, a fantasy novel, a postcolonial novel. These have been easilyglimpsed and accepted, (e.g., Smith [2003]; Anatol [2003]).But some of what raises the attention of the non-British, non-colonial world tothese novels is that the Potter series is a genuine epic, re-founding a great nationafter a long struggle, and concerned with great swathes of society in that nation.Epics are both national and universal, and here lies some of the Harry Potterappeal, and some of what we find in the papers included here: the magnet ofuniversality.Epics have always had an element of fantasy to make the heroic untouchable,unfathomable. Milton, borrowing the fantasy of Ariosto, still thought he could notset an epic in modern humanity back in 1680, so he chose the deepest possiblepast: the time of creation. Joyce could create a modern, and thus prose, epic, butonly a bathotic one. Bakhtin’s comments on the epic vs. the novel may bepertinent here. Bakhtin (1996) admits the epic was new once, but at a time in thedistant past we know nothing about (13–14). Yet at one time the epic was new, theheroes possibly from some mythical position either in the prehistorical past or thereligiously infinite space. Bakhtin ignores Virgil, who is writing in a well-definedpresent about a documented hero, and he certainly ignores the recreation ofnational epics in the 16th ] and 17th centuries, as well as Joyce. He did not, ofcourse, see the rise of science fictional and fantastical epics, such as Dune or Lordof the Rings, and had he done so, he would have denied that they were epics andcalled them novels.Yet science fiction has tried to recreate the epic, and done so using Bakhtin’snotion of the untouchable time. Dune separates itself so much from the currenttime that it is more easily seen as a biblical epic, and other science fiction epicstake their plots from Homer, or at least mythic tales, such as the fall of Hyperion.Potter is both satire and original epic—the epic as it might have been when new—set not in some prehistory, nor in some great future, but in the present, althoughjust round the unreachable corner. Thus it is both epic in the heroic untouchable,but as universal as any epic has ever been, partly because it is also now. Bakhtin’sseeming placement of novel and epic in opposition fades fairly rapidly as analysedby Galin Tihanov (2001). He sees Bakhtin’s comments as coming from a youngman, then an old one, undiscussed in between, seemingly without dueconsideration of Joyce’s work. We might also consider that Bakhtin has createdsomething of a tautology: if the novel, the ever flexible and vibrant genre, eats theepic, then the novel triumphs. What if it is the epic eating the novel and gaininglife once more?The quality of the epic that explores the vastness and complexity of human lifeis reflected in the variety of disciplines that find that the Potter stories speak tothem and comment on their discipline, world view, and moral compass.viii Preface

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Petra Rehling’s look at the uses of Harry Potter probably can be said to set thetone for this volume. “‘One Harry to bind them all’—The Utilisation of HarryPotter” notes how every discipline or cause can find use or justification within thenovels, from the religious right to the gay left, from teenage fan fiction writers, tosenior academics. Harry is not merely a text for analysis, but also a cultural object,remade into films, toys, web blogs and costume parties. This “thingification” ofcultural icons is symptomatic of our time, and provokes us to ask not whetherHarry Potter will be “integrated into the collective memory of mankind.”Many have wondered whether Harry Potter is a credible character: an abusedchild who does not continue the abuse, who does not become attention-seeking orwhinging. Rather he is generous and modest. Angelea Panos is not the first to fitHarry into practical psychological theory to prove that he is credible, but she goesfurther to examine his resiliency, not only as plausible, but as a model for theyoung undergoing comparable difficulties.Ronnie Carmeli does an examination of the Freudian and Kleinian needs of theinfant for mother figure and father role. Harry’s search for a father—pater—Patronus-figure in his life contrasted with the Voldemort and Crouch patricides arediscussed in these terms. While psychological readings of Harry are fairlycommon, and feminist readings abound, this masculine reading fills a long-feltgap.One of the important father figures is Albus Dumbledore, who in DeathlyHallows becomes less remote, more human, and immensely more complex. Theaegis of the formerly paragonic figure asks us to examine a “good man’s” moralcompass, particularly after a serious lapse of judgement in youth. Alicia Willson-Metzger explores, in particular, Dumbledore’s keeping of secrets, censoring truth,giving false impressions, and manipulating Harry’s life, supposedly for somehigher good. Meanwhile, Eliana Ionoaia examines the overall moral rectitudeinculcated by the series against a background of degenerating and relativisticviews of right and wrong.The most usual approaches for confronting a work of literature include the useof the battery of critical theories, often imposed as a mask to create a reading.Linda Jardine has used the psychoanalytical approach, leading to anencouragement of reader response theory, seeing reader involvement throughreader response as a movement creating discourse communities.Silvia Lafontaine has done a very concrete examination of reader responseusing marketing techniques to find out the appeal of Harry Potter to potentialpurchasers in a German bookshop. How readers classify the text, whatrelationships they see, what genres they think the novels fall into take readerresponse out of the realm of solipsism into something quantifiable. One might saythat her marketing approach proves the epic quality of the book: it is large andencompasses the world, as the epic ought.Another much used literary approach has been the use of postcolonial theory.Joanna Lipińska has taken a tuck in the postcolonial cloth to exercise “otherness”in machines and beasts as well as human races.Preface ix

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Meanwhile Susan Howard has examined slavery texts in relation to theenslavement of house elves, convincingly proposing that slave narratives form abackdrop to the character development of the docile, fawning underclass portrayedtoo well in the novels.The “them” of otherness is moved into an historical context by Aida Patientand Kori Street. Using trauma theory, they recognise the potential for a wizardholocaust just before the Hitleresque Voldemort is annihilated. Here is historicalreference—not accurate history, but rather the depiction of evil in the collectivememory. The films, particularly, have fashioned their view of evil on WWIIimages as a short-cut to describing a series of events and details of character,building on reader or viewer response to cultural icons.The theory of the gaze, based on Laura Mulvey’s original work, evolves underSusan Reynolds’ hand into a Victorian panopticon of gaze from all directions onthe life of Harry and his schoolmates. This is a Marxist look at gaze, not merely afeminist look, a self-gaze into mirrors as well as gaze from the other.Reader-response in the new milieu of culture as icon, as manipulatable things,evolves into a source for original composition, participating in making derivatives,not merely analytical responses to the original. Joelle Paré takes a look at thecreation of wizard rock as a participation in response-discourse.Religion has much to say about the original ambiguity of the novels. Hogwarts,like so many modern schools and institutions is accepting of people of all cultures,and religion is simply not discussed—not plurality of religion, but none at all, asthough to ensure none is neglected, all are neglected. And yet so clearly is religionlacking, that certain groups have believed that the message was in favour ofwitchcraft as a devil worship, filling the gap left by explicit religion. One approachto this subject is that the magic, as portrayed in the books, is like technology, fullof complications, but ultimately simply useful (Patterson 2003). And liketechnology and science in our own world, magic tried to fill the gap of religion, atleast in terms of the curriculum at Hogwarts. But many readers have seen throughthe superficiality of the witch costumes to Christian archetypes. There have been apersistent number of authors insisting on a Christian message in these novels.Some go so far as to see the Potter novels a something approaching a Christianallegory (Neil 2001; Andréa 2007; Granger 2007). In this collection, ChristineLittlefield has examined the nearly allegorical parallels of plot and character as ajourney and struggle through the difficulty to reach a higher plane of spiritualsatisfaction.The world-wide influence of Harry Potter not only on readers but also onwriters has created some stir. Hogwarts seems not to teach either literature orcomposition, and possibly for this reason, teachers at many levels are concernedabout Rowling’s grammar as well as her style. What kinds of writing is sheinculcating in young people? Certainly she has increased the number of thoseattempting to write narratives, as the huge number of fan fiction sites attests.Deborah Bridge has confronted the problem, both in the British and Americansystems of correctness and returned with what I found surprising results.x Preface

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Finally, my own contribution to this collection is to compare the American andBritish editions in terms of language. The investigation is into why the differenceswere deemed necessary, based on the history of language and publishing since the19th century.Potter Studies, like the concept of Littores Humanitas, is inclusive ofdisciplines, not just an acceptance of the usual literary critical categories: theheroic, the Marxist, the feminist, the postcolonial, the body … . Because of theepic quality of the work, and certainly because of the positioning of this fantasticalsatire at no distance from ourselves, save beyond a veil, through a glass darkly, orround the bend, the work(s) attract not only the theoretical, but the practicalscholars. And certainly it attracts truly multi-disciplinary examinations. PotterStudies includes not just a psychological analysis from a literary scholar, but also apractising psychologist, not a religious look from an English scholar, but also areligious scholar, not just a look at science by a dabbler in the subject, but also ascientist, not just a Marxist look at work, but a management scholar’s look atbusiness and economics. This collection is a taste of such an epic parliament.—Diana PattersonPreface xi

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThanks are due to Walter Bruno for assistance in editorial direction, owing tohis insight into the depths of Chicago’s style. Deborah Bridge and Aida Patientassisted in final proofreading. Their assistance cannot be sufficiently praised. Butany mistakes that persist are due to the editors own failings.A note of explanation must be given for “Holocaust History Amongst theHallows—Understanding Evil in Harry Potter.” This paper was submitted with 10illustrations from the Harry Potter films, but Warner Bros. was not willing to allowpublication of these, and at the eleventh hour, authors Aida Patient and Kori Streetdecided to leave the space for images grey.Thanks are owing to Amanda Millar, Soucin Yip-Sou, and Carol Koulikourdiof Cambridge Scholars Press for their assistance.And a special thanks must be given to Steve Vander Ark, whose valuablefinding aid deserves to be in every library.

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CHAPTER ONETHE S.P.L.I.C.E. OF LIFE?DEBORAH BRIDGEWhen writing was in its infancy, there was no such thing as punctuation. Backthen, there were no spaces between words and no capital letters either, but that wasall right, because not very many people could read; instead, they listened, andthose who could read did most of the talking, so they knew where to end theirwords and sentences, when to pause, when to stop, and so on. In other words,spaces and capitals and periods did not really matter either to speakers or listeners.But that was centuries ago. Now we have mechanics and punctuation, and rulesabout how to use them correctly. When writers, novice or experienced, break thoserules, readers can be confused or misled. One rule that is broken hundreds of timesin the Harry Potter novels is the one that says you cannot use a comma alone toseparate two independent clauses; the result is a comma splice, also called a fusedsentence, a run-on, a comma fault, a comma mistake, or a comma error. Commasplices are not just punctuation errors; they are sentence structure errors, and havebeen considered so for decades.The profusion of comma splices in Harry Potter bothered me more thananything else—more than not knowing whose side Snape was really on or whetherHarry would die in the final book.Why did these errors bother me so much?I teach university-level composition, and I spend a lot of time—much morenow than 5 or 10 years ago—identifying comma splices and other errors instudents’ writing and explaining how to prevent or fix them. More and more youngpeople coming into my classes know less and less about what is acceptable andwhat is not; many cannot write an intelligible sentence; most have grown uprelying too heavily on spelling- and grammar-checking software without actuallylearning correct spelling or grammar from these tools, and few know any rulesbeyond “Don’t start a sentence with ‘because’” or “i before e except after c,” (eventhough neither is a real rule). As the distinctions between formal and informalcommunication become fuzzier and as newer media—such as text messaging—have become more common, a growing number of inexperienced writers do notrealise that although “C U l8tr” and nonstandard spellings such as “l-i-t-e” are finein a text message, they should not be used in an essay. While new forms ofcommunication were contributing to the decline of people’s basic writing skills,the Harry Potter series was introducing millions of youth to the joys of reading.

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As wonderful as the latter was, it also worried me, because I became concernedabout the possibility of comma-splice-challenged Harry Potter fans winding up inmy English classes along with all the other grammar-ignorant students.I thought perhaps the first book or two had eluded editing because no oneanticipated their popularity, and because they were by an unknown author—whypay an editor to fix errors in books that may not sell? Then, as the seriesprogressed and became best sellers, I thought surely comma-splice-free editionswere imminent. Apparently I was wrong.Since neither Rowling nor the publishers have commented on why this error isso profuse and persistent in the books, I want to address the question unofficially.First, I wondered if anyone else shared my concern about the negativeinfluence all the comma splices might have on young readers. The followingparagraphs discuss what I found.Commenting on Order of the Phoenix, one U.S.-based composition andchildren’s literature instructor of 37 years says this:Over the course of 870 pages, J. K. Rowling consistently uses commas to separatemain clauses, as if there is no comma splice in England. Yet thousands of young,impressionable readers take this in as they valiantly succeed in reading … fromcover to cover. (Johnson 2006, 14)A Canadian critic, reviewing Half-Blood Prince, writesThere [are] comma splices everywhere. If you’re going to publish thirty millioncopies of a book, you should at least run it through Word grammar checker [sic].God invented semicolons for a reason; please use them. (Bader 2009)Calling Deathly Hallows “a punctuation train wreck,” another Americanteacher of English observes that while the books “have accomplished the magicalfeat of inspiring millions of children to read,” he found himself “marking [the]final Harry Potter as though it were a student’s paper.” He “noted 474…‘commasplices’,” and concludes thatThe rules of language provide boundaries within which our voice must flow; theyforce us to discipline both expression and thought, which is why it is so importantfor young people to learn to use language precisely … . Grammar is not theenemy, a scheme to suppress creativity wherever it rears its head, and followingits conventions would not have compromised Ms. Rowling’s vision. It isunfortunate that the editing of her books, with millions of young, impressionablereaders, has not matched the quality of their storytelling. (Warhaftig 2007)Bravo! thought I. However, lest I had got caught up in some purely NorthAmerican objection to comma splices that was unfounded in the United Kingdom,I sought support among British sources; after all, the English do a lot of thingsdifferently than either Americans or Canadians, and I wanted to be sure this wasnot one of them.2 Chapter One

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A consultation of many British grammar books and web sites revealed thatcomma splices are considered just as wrong in England as elsewhere (although theworks of adult fiction writers such as Phillipa Gregory, Penny Vincenzi, andMaeve Binchy might suggest otherwise). But had any British experts expressedconcern about the Harry Potter comma splices in particular?Yes!Paul Livesey, a senior lecturer in English language and linguistics at theUniversity of Central Lancashire, complains that Rowling’s “biggest sin” is her“habitual use of run-on sentences, which even seven-year-olds are supposed toavoid.” Livesey (2003) goes on to sayUnless they have good reason, no one, least of all a bestselling author read bymillions of children, should put main clauses together in one sentence without aconjunctionand asserts that Rowling “does not set a good example. Her books are riddled withrun-on sentences.”Livesey (2003) acknowledges that many of the comma splices occur indialogue and suggests they “could in theory be defended as being used for effect,”but then writes, “There are…too many instances for this defence to succeed.”After establishing that he is “not anti-Harry” and conceding that “The Potterphenomenon is a contagious but benevolent plague,” Livesey says he feels sorryfor today’s children, because “They are expected to follow language norms, yet arebombarded with examples of bad practice” (2003).Though relieved to discover that others shared my concern about the possiblenegative influence of the Harry Potter comma splices, I still wondered why thepublishers of perhaps the most popular young readers’ series ever had notcorrected these errors. Did they, as one critic asks, “neglect to assign an editor tothe project, or were Ms. Rowling’s manuscripts protected by an immutabilitycharm?” (Warhaftig 2007). Or could there be some other explanation?Although numerous grammar and writing handbooks state that “Two completesentences may never be joined by a comma alone” (Trask 2002; emphasis added),others are less rigid, saying, for example, that “you may encounter a comma splicenow and then in the novels of respected writers … [but] that doesn’t mean …they’re acceptable in academic or formal writing.” (Hairston and Ruskiewicz1993, 420–21; emphasis added). Or, as Lynne Truss says in Eats, Shoots &Leaves, “so many highly respected writers adopt the … comma [splice] that arather unfair rule emerges…: only do it if you’re famous” (2004, 88).The comma splices in Harry Potter certainly occur more than “now and then.”And why is it okay to create comma splices only if you are a respected and/orfamous writer? The grammar handbooks do not explain, and Truss’s answer is notvery satisfactory; she writesThe S.P.L.I.C.E. of Life? 3

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Done knowingly by an established writer, the comma splice is effective, poetic,dashing. Done equally knowingly by people who are not published writers, it canlook weak or presumptuous. Done ignorantly by ignorant people, it is awful. (88)But Rowling was not established nor famous in the beginning, nor were any otherwriters whose work is now apparently exempt from the rule. And who determineswhether their comma splices were “done knowingly”—the writers? An editor? Thereaders? Were the comma splices in Philosopher’s Stone “weak or presumptuous”only until Rowling became a famous or established or respected writer, and thenthey were all right?There is another possibility. Since Rowling demonstrates, from the beginning,that she knows how to use punctuation correctly to join independent clauses, wemight conclude that where she uses a comma incorrectly to join complete thoughts(according to the rule), she does so for reasons that perhaps even she is not fullyaware of and that the experts may not have considered.Here are several examples from the first volume, Harry Potter and thePhilosopher’s Stone in which comma splices have been avoided:For a second, Mr Dursley didn’t realise what he had seen—then he jerked his headaround to look again. (PS, 8.)The dash here not only avoids a comma splice—it adds emphasis to the secondclause.Mr Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren’t young at all; why,that man had to be older than he was and wearing an emerald-green cloak! (8)The semicolon is a common way to join two independent clauses; it is mosteffectively used when there is some relationship or connection between the twoclauses, as in the above example.But then it struck Mr Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt—thesepeople were obviously collecting for something … yes, that would be it. (8)Again, the dash here correctly joins the first and second clauses—and it draws ourattention to the second clause. The ellipsis, an unusual way to join independentclauses, adds some immediacy … it subtly creates the impression that we areinside Dursley’s head, seeing his thoughts as he thinks them.He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, thebank and Harry were just a few of his favourite subjects. (24)This sentence uses a colon at the end of the first independent clause to introduce asecond, an enumeration of what Dursley means by “things.” Although this, like the4 Chapter One

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dash and the ellipsis, is an uncommon use of punctuation to join independentclauses, it is certainly correct.Interestingly, all of these examples are either from or about Mr. Dursley’sperspective—Mr. Dursley, who is so concerned about being seen as proper andcorrect. Also interestingly, much of Hermione’s dialogue contains comma splices,which is ironic, since she is another character who, through most of the story, isconcerned about following the rules and not just being seen as correct, but aboutbeing correct. These points, as well as an analysis of where else comma splicesoccur, may be worthy of discussion in a future paper.So, if Rowling knows how to avoid comma splices, as these examples suggestshe does, there must be some explanation for why she writes so many of them, anexplanation that goes beyond their being written for stylistic effect or the publisherneglecting to assign an editor.There are, and always have been, two main views of punctuation: the rhetoricaland the grammatical (Baron 2000; Parkes 1993). The older of the two, therhetorical, focuses on “bringing out correspondences between the written mediumand the spoken word” (Parkes 1993, 4), while the grammatical “has beenconcerned with the application of punctuation to identify the boundaries of …‘sentences’ and the units of … grammatical constituents within them” (4). “Inrhetorical punctuation, a comma is inserted wherever a major breath group ends,regardless of the overall grammatical structure of the sentence” (Baron 2000, 170).So, the sentence “The shadowy figure who lurked outside my office for weeks onend, turned out to be a private detective” is punctuated correctly from therhetorical perspective (170), but not from the grammatical, which says subject andverb should not be separated by a comma. The sentence can be punctuatedgrammatically two ways—with no commas, in which case the “who” clause isrestrictive, or with a comma before “who” and after “end,” in which case the“who” clause is non-restrictive (and the sentence can be read rhetorically, withbreath groups ending after “figure” and “end”).Although the rhetorical and grammatical approaches to punctuation aredifferent and the rules governing each change as language use itself changes,sometimes the two overlap (as in the non-restrictive “who” clause in “Theshadowy figure” sentence), and “there is usually some agreement betweengrammarians and rhetoricians as to what constitutes incomplete and completedsense” (Parkes 1993, 4). Further, “Adherence to one … [approach] or anotherreflects a writer’s views about the role of punctuation, as well as about therelationship between speech and writing” (4).Over the past 160 years,tele-technologies—the telegraph … telephone, radio, television, and the Internet… [have] helped redefine the relationship between speech and writing, largelyblurring the distinctions between the two. (Parkes 1993, 186)Although we have not stopped putting spaces between words when we write—atleast, not in formal writing yet—shorter sentences, less formal diction, andThe S.P.L.I.C.E. of Life? 5

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punctuation used according to the way people speak—or rhetorically—areevidence of “an increasingly oral basis to written language” (193). So more andmore, written language is becoming like speech, but because speech is less formalnow than ever before, so is writing. One signal of this shift can be seen in the waysome writers use internal punctuation.Many of the Harry Potter comma splices can be classified as rhetorical in thetraditional sense of writing that attempts to mirror or re-present speech, but—andthis is important—they also exhibit characteristics of the more modern shift,rhetorically and grammatically, toward writing influenced by tele-technologies.Viewing the comma splices this way can also explain why they are loathed somuch by some: they violate that area of “agreement between grammarians andrhetoricians as to what constitutes incomplete and completed sense” (Parkes 1993,4) and in so doing, create a gap—some would say a chasm—between the rules ofsentence structure, often reflected in what should be (or the prescriptive approach)and what is, or actual practice in both speaking and writing (or the descriptiveapproach).Can the gap between prescriptive and descriptive, grammatical and rhetorical,be closed on the Harry Potter comma splices? I believe it can.Over 30 years ago, one grammarian and linguist argued that “the comma spliceis a legitimate use of the comma” under certain conditions, and more recently,another asserts that regarding the comma splice as an error “has no logicalbasis”(Brosnahan 1976, 184; Klink 1998, 96). These experts point out that severalkinds of comma splice are “widely accepted” (Brosnahan 1976, 184); indeed, theyare so common, we do not even recognise them as errors, and all illustrate howrhetorical punctuation in the vernacular has resulted in grammatical acceptance ofa comma between independent clauses in writing. Here are some examples ofacceptable comma splices in Harry Potter:1. a. Where one independent clause is a tag question:And you’ve got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know? (PS, 82)Sort of freeze your insides, don’t they? (PoA, 75)b. Where one independent clause is a tag comment or comment clause:You know, the Stone was not such a wonderful thing. (PS, 215)His comeback didn’t come off quite the way he wanted it to, you see. (OotP, 87)2. In “not only … but also” constructions where the “but” or “but also” isomitted:He not only won every prize of note that the school offered, [but] he was soon inregular correspondence with the most notable magical names of the day. (DH, 22)6 Chapter One

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3. Between short, parallel independent clauses, including those in series (calledparatactic clauses):“I can’t work, I can’t concentrate” she said nervously. (PoA, 222)Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. (HBP, 415)And perhaps the most recognisable instance of acceptable comma splices in fictionis this one.4. In dialogue, to indicate rhythm or rate of speech. Many of the Harry Pottercomma splices occur in dialogue, as when we first meet Hermione:“Are you sure that’s a real spell?” said the girl. “Well, it’s not very good, is it?I’ve tried a few simple spells just for practice and it’s all worked for me. Nobodyin my family’s magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but Iwas ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it’s the very best school of witchcraft thereis, I’ve heard—I’ve learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope itwill be enough—I’m Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?” (PS, 79)Note that this speech also includes tag questions and comments.In addition, the novels contain three more kinds of comma splice that are notformally acknowledged in sources.A. Those that “sandwich” the name of the person being addressed oridentification of speaker—or both—between two independent clauses:“I can’t, Harry, I’ve still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!” saidHermione (PoA, 195).“I know I messed up Ancient Runes,” muttered Hermione feverishly, “I definitelymade at least one serious mistranslation” (GoF, 99).“Don’t call me Nymphadora, Remus,” said the young witch with a shudder, “it’sTonks” (OotP, 49).B. Those that combine an imperative and a declarative or vice-versa,sometimes in combination with A:“Watch out for the bottom stair, it creaks,” Harry whispered back, as the twinsdisappeared onto the dark landing (CoS, 25).“There are plenty of mice around this place, go and chase them”(PoA, 130).“‘Yeah, don’t worry, Hagrid, we’ll back you up,’ said Ron.” (92)All instances of A and B occur in dialogue, but do not always indicate rhythm orrate of speech, because some of the pauses between clauses are clearly intended tobe longer. For example, “Watch out for the bottom stair, it creaks” demands alonger pause than “‘I know I messed up Ancient Runes,’ muttered Hermionefoolishly, ‘I definitely made at least one serious mistranslation’,” because theThe S.P.L.I.C.E. of Life? 7

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“muttered Hermione foolishly” breaks up the two independent clauses moreeffectively.C. The third use of comma splices occurs in both narrative and dialogue, oftenmirroring common speech patterns; I call them elliptical, because the commas takethe place of co-ordinate or subordinate conjunctions, relative pronouns such as“that” or “which,” or other connective words:He was so absorbed, [that] he even forgot to be horrible to Crookshanks. (PoA,221)Harry half wished he hadn’t asked what was under a Dementor’s hood, [becauseor as] the answer had been so horrible, and he was so lost … that he walkedheadlong into Professor McGonagall. (PoA, 183)The meeting’s over, [so] you can come down and have dinner now. (OotP, 72)I thought it might have been Kreacher, [since] he keeps doing odd things like that.(72)I’ve been meaning to tell you, Sirius, [that] there’s something trapped in thatwriting desk in the drawing room, [because] it keeps rattling and shaking. (81)Many of the “sandwich” sentences (see A, above), as well as the imperative anddeclarative sentences, can be seen as elliptical too.Just as the first four types of comma splice—between independent clauses withtag questions and comments; between “Not only” “but” or “but also” independentclauses (which are essentially elliptical); between paratactic clauses; and betweenindependent clauses in dialogue—are widely accepted; the last three identifiedhere should be acceptable too, and not just for use by, as Truss says, “established”writers, but by anyone. I propose, therefore, that everyone join S.P.L.I.C.E., theSociety for the Promotion of Literate and Intentional Comma Errors, and starttelling people that the Harry Potter comma errors are examples of the positiveinfluence of tele-technologies on writing.In a way, we have come full circle—just as audiences of centuries ago had noidea that texts they were hearing lacked punctuation, modern audiences certainlycannot detect comma splices in the Harry Potter films.8 Chapter One

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CHAPTER TWOFOUR MODELS OF FATHERHOOD:PATERNAL CONTRIBUTORS TO HARRY POTTER’SPSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTRONNIE CARMELIThe paternal role is highly important in emotional development, both in lifeand in Rowling’s septology. The Harry Potter series has father figures and father-son relationships in abundance. The examples Rowling offers us of fatherhoodreveal her underlying assumptions about the paternal role in psychologicaldevelopment. Not only does psychoanalytic understanding aid the reading ofHarry Potter but it also demonstrates how Rowling’s insight contributes to theunderstanding of paternity, advancing and developing psychoanalytic ideas of thefather role.Psychoanalysis began with Freud’s conceptualisation of the Oedipus complex,marking the father role as significant in psychological development. Embedded ina paternalistic culture, Freud’s Oedipal complex and its healthy solution play theimportant role of constructing ambition in the child, through sublimation of thedrives and internalisation of the social values essential for participation in socialconduct. After Freud, psychoanalysts such as Melanie Klein and Donald Winnicottattributed much more influence to the child’s earlier development, thus advancingthe mother-infant relationship to the frontier of psychoanalytic thought,overshadowing the role of the father.Recent ideas in psychoanalytic thought return to emphasising the previouslyneglected father role, hence the interest in the septology’s reflection ofcontemporary western psychological and sociological dilemmas. If mainstreammid-century psychoanalysis stressed the need for a nurturing environment for thebaby, marking the need for an “attuned enough mother” by terms such as“holding” and “containing,” there is now a growing awareness in psychoanalysisof the importance of the father role. This awareness also stands out in clinicalwork, especially with children and adolescents, with whom the need to reconstructlost values and parental guidance is striking. Rowling’s septology demonstratesmagnificently this role of the father, intertwined with later psychoanalytic ideas,such as those of Melanie Klein (Carmeli 2008, 31–33).

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It is needless to point out the overwhelming psychological influence the HarryPotter series has had on audiences worldwide. This success echoes that ofSophocles’s Oedipus Rex, and both, to use the words of Aristotle, invoke ourdeepest fears, and arouse our most profound feelings of compassion (Aristotle,Longinus and Demetrius 1995, 24–28). In both cases the protagonist’s basicsituation is uncommon: Oedipus is adopted. In a way, so is Harry, althoughHarry’s biological parents are not alive. Both cases, though extreme, providemagnified reflections of normal developmental issues, hence engaging the readerin emotional processing, and producing what Aristotle termed “catharsis.”All human beings use many paternal figures to transfer their feelings andrelationship patterns by means of displacements and condensations and to processissues concerning their basic paternal relationship. It should be noted that in everysignificant relationship paternal tendencies appear as one layer of the complexstrings that tie one human being to another. This tie is independent of age andgender. Hermione’s voice, for example, appears on many occasions as anintrojected part of Harry’s superego, usually associated in psychoanalysis as apaternal construction (e.g., “Not for the first time, a voice very much likeHermione’s whispered in his ear: reckless.” [OotP, 343]).Harry, as a child who lost his father at a very young age, is particularlydependent on “strangers” to supply him with paternal figures. Many characters inthe septology step up to this task, the most significant being Remus Lupin, SiriusBlack, Albus Dumbledore, and Severus Snape.It has previously been noted that the Harry Potter series is marked by thedevelopmental growth of the protagonist, thus introducing a new genre in(children’s) literature (McGavock 2006). In the septology, Harry’s development,paternally speaking, can perhaps be divided into two stages. The first three booksexemplify Harry’s gradual solution of the Oedipal conflict climaxing in theacquisition of the Patronus charm and in gaining a sense of potency. The last threebooks lay out Harry’s second developmental stage, as he eventually succeeds inintrojecting a whole and imperfect father figure. This is illustrated in his choice totrust Dumbledore in deciding to seek the Horcruxes instead of the temptingHallows (Carmeli 2008, 34). Goblet of Fire plays an intermediate developmentalnear-plateau between these two important developmental leaps, much asSophocles’s middle play, Oedipus in Colonus, does in his Oedipal trilogy.The Oedipus ComplexThe mythology of psychoanalysis narrates Freud’s discovery of the Oedipuscomplex during his 1897 summer vacation, in which he supposedly underwentself-analysis, the first psychoanalysis in history (Jones 1953, 319–27). Freudconceptualised the Oedipal triangle—mother-father-child—as a cornerstone in thefoundation of psychoanalysis. The father’s role in resolving the Oedipus complexwas key to his theory.12 Chapter Two

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During his 1897 vacation, Freud neglected his previous account of neurosis,“the seduction theory,” which attributed different neuroses to the parent’sseduction of the child at various ages. In his famous letter to his friend Fliess, hestates: “I no longer believe in my neurotica … ” (Freud 1966, 259). Theappearance of a new practice, a new discipline to be born, also triggers an excitingand innovative line of research concerning the role of the father in psychologicalgrowth. In his theoretical shift he also changes his focus from the female child tothe male one. The prototype for child development changes from his and Breuer’shysterical female patients, to himself (Breuer 1955).In finding the parallel of hysteria within him, Freud realised that it is not theparent who seduces the child, but rather it is the child’s libidinal fantasies thatcomplicate his psychological life. The son wishes to be rid of his father and gainhis mother’s exclusive affections. Due to these fantasies he fears his father’sretaliation, mainly by castration. However, his emotions towards his father areambivalent, for he also seeks his love and intimacy (Freud 1953, 4:256–64; Freud1961, 31–32).The father figure in Freud’s Oedipal theory sets the norms of conduct in socialinteraction, beginning with the prohibition of incest. Through his fear of castrationand the love of his father, the son succeeds in introjecting the father figure, andaccepting social norms. This is an essential stage climaxing in the formation of thesuperego, enabling the child to enter society as a capable human being (Carmeli2008, 31).It is important to note the historical background of these Freudian ideas: thefoundation of psychoanalysis took place in Vienna’s fin de siècle, a time in whichsocial norms and rules became ambiguous and questioned. This modern ambiguityof social law may be historically compared to the ambiguity of law in fifth centuryBCE Athens, when it became apparent that man’s law (political law) and God’slaw (religious law) are at times opposed (Vernant 1981). At times such as these,the basic laws of human society need to be spelled out, hence the cultural successof Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex and Antigone, as well as Freud’s “Oedipal Conflict.”The basic law against incest or as Pucci (1992) names it, “the Father’s ,” becomesexplicit (2–3). It may be that Harry’s lack of father, and his consequential “certaindisregard for rules” (CoS, 245), makes it difficult for him to resolve his Oedipalissues, and introject the Father’s Law.In an article titled “Harry Potter’s Oedipal Issues,” Noel-Smith (2001)demonstrates Harry’s Oedipal complex by highlighting the moment in whichJames tells Lily to flee with their child, thus protecting the mother-child dyad bothphysically and psychologically. It is important to grasp the idea of the Oedipuscomplex as a conflict between the hate/fright the child feels towards theretaliating/castrating father image and the love/identification he feels towards thebenevolent/protecting father image. Noel-Smith (2001) argues that Harry splits offthe malevolent father image, projecting it into Lord Voldemort (206). This splitenables Harry to protect his dead father from his Oedipal ambivalence towards theFour Models of Fatherhood 13

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father figure, but seems to hinder his psychological growth in resolving theconflict.Noel-Smith (2001) argues that the Harry Potter series is rooted in this splittingposition, allowing the readers to participate in Harry’s Oedipal complex. On thecontrary, the splitting tendency Noel-Smith (2001) marks becomes a negotiableand changeable psychoanalytic issue through the septology.The Totem FatherAs his writings progressed, Freud continued to develop his Oedipal ideas, andin consequence enriched his theoretical assumptions about the paternal role in thechild’s mental development. Thirteen years after publishing his Traumdeutung(The Interpretation of Dreams), Freud introduced to psychoanalysis anotherpaternal function: separate from that of the Oedipal father, though in closeinteraction with the Oedipal idea, viz., the “Totem Father.”Freud speaks of Totem as an animal or more rarely a natural phenomenon,which is identified with a clan, and marks the alleged ancestor of the clan. Freudspeaks of the Totem as a symbolic remnant of an actual (pre-) historical eventwhich occurred in different clans: the murder of the Totem ancestor-father. ThisPatricide was, according to Freud’s account, followed by a Totem meal, in whichthe sons ate the Totem father in order to internalise him and his abilities andprivileges. In this action the sons also internalised the father’s law—namely, theprohibition of incest—thus becoming a society abiding by the Oedipal laws.In Freud’s account of pre-historic anthropology of mankind, previous to the actof patricide and the Totem meal, the father alone had access to intercourse withwomen in the clan. In this sense the Totem father was omnipotent, while his sonswere impotent. The prohibition of incest does not apply to the Totem father. In thesocial pact made by the sons, they not only agree to be rid of their father and gainaccess to the women of the clan, but also the pact itself marks the entrance ofsocial order ruled first and foremost by the prohibition of incest (Freud 1955).From this point on, fathers will no longer be omnipotent, and the prohibition ofincest will apply to them; they are Oedipal fathers, as opposed to the Totem father.Rowling offers us a wide arch of paternal possibilities, or father-sonrelationships. On one end of this arc, there is the possibility of total rejection of thefather by the son, as demonstrated by the act of patricide, which occurs twice inthe books, once with the Crouches and once with the Riddles (Carmeli 2008, 34).Not only does a young Voldemort kill his father, but he also revives himself bymeans of the murdered father’s bone (GoF, 556). This brings to mind Freud’sTotem meal, as the internalisation of the father involves crude, dark magic.However, in contrast to Freud’s Totem story, Voldemort’s father does not become awarning Totem symbol. In the Riddle case, the son himself is trying to becomeomnipotent, while social law does not apply to him. He sees his father as animpotent Muggle, and cannot accept his mother’s choice of his father over him.14 Chapter Two

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This is why he does not resolve his Oedipus complex at all, and cannot internalisenorms of social conduct.Barty Crouch, Jr. identifies with Voldemort in many aspects of paternity theyshared. Although their stories differ in many ways, he also sees his father asunworthy. In Crouch’s case, however, the son gains his mother’s love over hisfather. The Oedipal situation is complicated not only by this, but also by hisfather’s inability to love at all. In Crouch, Sr.’s harshness, Rowling exemplifieswhat might happen to the son when his father’s superego presents cruel demandsand overtakes the father’s ego strengths. Crouch, Jr. turns to Voldemort for thepaternity he has never had.At the other end of the wide arch of the father-son issue, Rowling offers us thestory of Harry. Harry is presenting a heroic and desperate struggle throughout theseries to internalise a whole father figure, against all odds, and in the face ofrecurring premature losses of potential father figures. Later on, the focus will beon the process Harry is laying out for us in his struggle, but first let us examine thechild’s first relationship.The Mother-Child DyadAlthough this paper’s primary concern is the analysis of different paternalcontributors to Harry’s mental development, the capacity for introjecting a fatherfigure is built on the child’s first experience of a relationship, his relationship withhis mother figure. Moreover, psychoanalytically speaking, Harry’s mother, Lily,has had the time to fulfil her primary role, as the mother’s contribution to her son’sdevelopment is most important in his first year of life.Winnicott’s famous saying, “There is no such thing as a baby,” refers to theabsence of a baby without a mother or a main caretaker, because one never sees ababy on its own (Winnicott 1964, 8). A baby cannot survive without a mother-figure. In comparison to most animals, the human child is born immature. At birthhe is still connected to his mother as a biological organism; his survival will bedependent on her for a few more years. This accounts for the lengthypsychological process of human separation.Klein was the first to stress the mother-child dyad, with a special focus on thebaby’s first year. In this sense, Rowling’s basic assumptions are Kleinian. Harry’sstrength of character, or ego strength, stems first and foremost from his first yearof life. No matter how much he was mistreated by the Dursleys, they could notcrush the basic mental stability given to him by his certainly “good enoughmother” (a term coined by Winnicott [1964]), just as they could not squash themagic out of him (or is it the same thing?). As Dumbledore explains, Lily’s lovefor Harry left an indestructible mark of safety on his psyche:If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize thatlove as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark …. Not a scar, noFour Models of Fatherhood 15

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visible sign … to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved usis gone, will give us some protection forever. (PS, 216; emphasis added)Voldemort’s mother, on the other hand, was definitely not good enough. Herlove for her son was not strong enough, even to help her survive and raise him.This is not being judgemental of Merope’s moral fibre, but merely indicates theexplanation Rowling gives for Voldemort’s deep pathology and mistrust. Asopposed to Lily, who died to keep her son alive, Merope died in spite of her sonbeing alive. Also, as Noel-Smith (2001) notes, Lily’s love for her child wassignificant and lasting, even in the face of the loss of her spouse. Merope’s lovefor her husband was stronger than any other significance to her life, including hermotherhood. (This of course has a lot to do with the parental care Lily and Meropeexperienced themselves as children).Harry as a baby was able to experience himself as a possible object of hismother’s desire, to use Lacanian terminology (Homer 2005, 53–55). Thus hismother prepared him for the challenges of the Oedipal stage. This does not mean,as Noel-Smith (2001) states, that Harry must develop an Oedipal fixation, becauseat this pre-Oedipal young age, a child needs to feel he is the centre of his mother’sattention. Voldemort, on the other hand, was deprived of this experience, andtherefore he is unprepared for the Oedipal developmental tasks, doomed to denyhis father’s significance in his life, as well as the importance of social norms ofconduct, which the father mediates for his son.Klein states that during his first few months the baby cannot grasp wholeobjects, including himself or his mother. He does not understand the mother as awhole human being and only experiences fragmented images of her. Neither timenor space exists for the newborn baby as a continuum (Carmeli 2008, 32). Thisidea of Klein’s provides a notion of the baby’s world as a confusion. Klein callsthe baby’s state during these few first months “the schizo-paranoid position”:Schizo—splitting in Greek—for the baby’s immature perceptual and cognitivecapacities split objects in his world into part-objects, and paranoid—because theanxieties aroused in the baby are of persecutory nature. Originally, the baby’smind experiences itself as omnipotent—the full breast will show itself by merethought of the hungry baby, fantasising about its food. This is why the baby isconfused and even terrified by the inability to anticipate the arrival of the feedingbreast, a fear that is naturally intensified by his dependency on his mother. He isafraid of annihilation. He wants to have the full-of-milk breast to himself, isenvious of its fullness, and therefore fears its retaliation. This is not altogetherfictional, for the breast does abandon the baby and does not arrive at any givenmoment of hunger the baby experiences. Klein (1986b) explains that the baby usesa splitting mechanism, conceptualising the fantasy-fulfilling breast as “the goodbreast” and the disappointing breast as “the bad breast.” This splitting mechanismis not unlike Harry’s splitting of the father image, according to Noel-Smith, into“the good father,” James, and “the bad father,” Voldemort.According to Klein (1986b), during his first half-year of life the infant movesfrom this schizo-paranoid position to a more mature one. Now he can grasp whole16 Chapter Two